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MBBS in China Q&AMenu

When did China start listing universities for English-taught MBBS?

Unofficial · Sources checked

China began listing universities for English-taught MBBS in the 2007/2008 academic year. The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China issued the notice 教外来〔2007〕39号 on 10 July 2007, which placed enrolment of international students in undergraduate clinical medicine (English-taught) under plan management from that year and named 30 universities. The notice gave its reason in its background paragraph: some schools had pursued scale for economic gain, some lacked English-teaching staff and had low teaching quality, and a few had lowered entry thresholds and admitted students on a high-school certificate alone.

Why the list was created

The English below is this site's translation of the Chinese text of the notice 教外来〔2007〕39号, issued by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China on 10 July 2007.

The notice's background paragraph states that, in recent years, some schools opened English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine to meet foreign demand and expand enrolment, and this was welcomed by some countries and students. It then describes the problems that appeared in practice, in its own terms:

  • some schools focused only on the economic benefit of receiving foreign students and blindly pursued larger scale;
  • some schools lacked sufficient English-teaching faculty and had low teaching quality;
  • a few universities lowered entry thresholds and admitted students on a high-school graduation certificate alone, so the quality of incoming students was not assured;

and it says these problems affected the reputation of China's higher education. The notice states that it set up a national expert working group, which drafted the Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students (《暂行规定》), and the notice issues those provisions for implementation.

Plan management from 2007/2008

Paragraph 1 of the notice 教外来〔2007〕39号 (Ministry of Education, 10 July 2007) states that, from the 2007/2008 academic year, enrolment of undergraduate clinical medicine (English-taught) by higher schools that basically meet the Interim Provisions is placed under plan management, and the enrolment plan is published each year.

Paragraph 2 of the same notice states that, after assessment by the expert group, 30 higher schools were determined for the 2007/2008 academic year with their enrolment plans. It states that schools not on this list, or not assigned an enrolment plan, may not enrol undergraduate clinical medicine (English-taught) international students.

The list is dynamic

Paragraph 4 of the notice (Ministry of Education, 10 July 2007) states that the published school list is a dynamic list, and whether a school meets the Interim Provisions is assessed by the expert group and published when the annual enrolment plan is issued. It states that schools not on the list may enrol medical students taught in Chinese, but their training standard must be the same as that of Chinese students.

Article 30 of the standard

The Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students are annex 1 to the notice 教外来〔2007〕39号 (Ministry of Education, 10 July 2007).

Article 30 of the standard states that the Ministry of Education will entrust the national expert group to evaluate the teaching quality of schools offering English-taught undergraduate medical education to international students, and to publish the list of schools that pass evaluation and their enrolment scale. It states that schools not on the list may not enrol English-taught medical undergraduates. It further states that a school applying to enrol such students is assessed by the expert group, and those meeting the conditions are listed in the next year's list.

The three figures, by date

The documents give three separate counts at three separate dates. Each is a statement for its own year, not a trend.

Document Date Statement
Notice 教外来〔2007〕39号, paragraph 2 2007/2008 academic year 30 higher schools determined with enrolment plans
Q&A page "Which institutions are qualified to receive international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine (MBBS)?" 8 May 2014 48 institutions qualified to receive English-taught MBBS international students
Notice 教外厅函〔2023〕10号, paragraph 1 2023–2024 academic year 44 universities entrusted to enrol, with 3,048 places in total

The 2023–2024 notice (教外厅函〔2023〕10号) is dated 15 May 2023 and was published on the Ministry's site on 30 May 2023. Its preamble states that, on the basis of the 2007 notice 教外来〔2007〕39号, the Ministry continued plan management of such enrolment for the 2023–2024 academic year. Paragraph 1 states that, for 2023–2024, the Ministry entrusted 44 universities to enrol international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine, with 3,048 places in total; it states the schools and place allocations were set by combining past enrolment and each school's daily teaching and management of international medical education.

The Ministry's policy index showed no later edition when this site read it on 11 October 2026. The 2023–2024 list is the list for that academic year only. Confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry of Education. The full 2023–2024 list of 44 universities and their plans is on this site's recognised universities page.

Related questions

Was the 2007 list the only list?

The Ministry's question-and-answer page dated 8 May 2014 states that 48 institutions were qualified for the 2014/2015 position, and it states the Ministry updates the list and each school's plan every year. The current list available from this site is the 2023–2024 one (教外厅函〔2023〕10号).

Can a school not on the list still teach medicine in English to foreign students?

Paragraph 2 of the notice 教外来〔2007〕39号 states that schools not on the 2007/2008 list, or not assigned a plan, may not enrol English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine international students. Article 30 of the standard states that schools not on the published list may not enrol English-taught medical undergraduates. Paragraph 4 of the notice states that schools not on the list may enrol medical students taught in Chinese, under the same standard as Chinese students.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or professional-licensing advice, is not published by the bodies named, promises no admission, examination or registration outcome, and the official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

Check the regulator's current document before you act. Medical councils issue new notices often, and a notice can change who may sit an examination. This page reflects the documents as they stood on the date above. It does not promise registration or a licence.

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